


Your eyes

by TransparentSheepDeer



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon: Devilman Crybaby, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i even misspelled two but im too tired to correct it, i had to finals today and im dead inside i need this, the fic is correct spelling tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 10:58:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17445614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransparentSheepDeer/pseuds/TransparentSheepDeer
Summary: Ryo takes it upon himself to be as affectionate with Akira as Akira is with him.alternative title: different ways to say 'I love you'





	Your eyes

Romantic things were... how to put this.

Romantic things were _not_ Ryo’s forte – it was always Akira who initiated these things.

Hugs, kisses, dates – _everything_.

Truth be told, Ryo had little clue about how romance was supposed to work. He knew that things like this came naturally to _Akira_ , but not to him.

Last time Akira was over, they watched a movie. Ryo didn’t quite remember the plot or the title – but he _did_ remember Akira asking him for a blanket.

Then asking for a hug.

Then asking to cuddle.

Then putting his arm around his shoulder.

 _And_ pulling him closer.

And then having _the_ _audacity_ to act as if he was more interested in the movie than in Ryo.

It wasn’t even that interesting, and all Ryo wanted to do was lean his head on Akira’s shoulder, tell him it was a horrible movie, and... see how that turned out.

But that was where the problem arose: Ryo just _had_ to stop himself from doing it, didn’t he?

The night wasn’t a complete disaster, though; after a while, Akira seemed to remember he had his _boyfriend_ ( _!_ ) next to him, and he finally decided to continue The Thing.

It was hard to define The Thing, really – because every time Akira did it, it felt like it was happening for the first time.

It would make Ryo freeze up. If he attempted to speak, it would come out as flustered stuttering. Or, even worse, that unfamiliar sound, that little _squeak_ of happiness.

Actually, no, the _worst_ part of it was Akira’s reaction to _Ryo’s_ reaction – his eyes would sparkle and his smile would widen, and he would chuckle, and it- those eyes- that smile- Ryo’s heart just couldn’t take it. It was the equivalent of the fuses melting because the idiotic residents used too much electronic stuff at the same time.

The gestures always changed, one way or another. Sometimes Akira would just take his hand, other times he would intertwine his fingers, and other times he would bring it to his lips and kiss his knuckles.

And all Ryo would do is stare at him with a love-struck expression.

Kisses, though... oh, man. _Kisses_.

If Akira’s smile was the equivalent of the fuses melting, then his kiss was the equivalent of an electric fire.

The demanding, impatient kisses Ryo saw in the media were nothing like Akira’s.

When Akira kissed, it was slow and soft. When Akira kissed, he held Ryo’s face. When Akira kissed, he smiled against Ryo’s lips. When Akira kissed, an all-consuming warmth unfolded inside Ryo’s chest.

What he did last time was new, though.

He had bumped his nose against Ryo’s ear, and whispered sweet things. It hadn’t even- they had been so _simple_ ; simple, but still Akira-like. They had made Ryo blush. He could actually _feel_ the blush on his face that time.

Akira had started off with unserious comments, like _You make the best instant ramen_ , and _I love it when you send me memes at three am,_ which then turned into things like _Did you wash your hair? You smell really nice_ (for the record: Ryo _did_ wash his hair that day).

These kinds went on for, what, three or four minutes.

And with each second passing, the likelihood of Akira pressing a kiss to his temple, hair or forehead grew. Some of them followed by another kiss (or more).

For the last one, Akira had leaned in, pecked him on the lips, and whispered:

“ _Your smile reminds me of all the things that are worth fighting for._ ”

It had made Ryo’s heart skip a beat and his breath had gotten caught in his throat. Akira’s eyes had peered into his, and the usual playful kindness had been replaced by something Ryo hadn’t seen before.

Akira had never been the type to hide his emotions – but in that moment, he had looked cautious; vulnerable, even. His eyes had reflected a mixture of determination and hesitancy, carefully examining Ryo’s face for traces of rejection.

Ryo had kissed his nose as a response and pulled him close; Akira had nuzzled into his shoulder. Ryo had held him for a while, just threading his fingers through Akira’s hair, before muttering:

“ _Thank you for saying that_.”

It hadn’t been the best response, he knew. But it was all he could muster.

Akira was Romantic with a capital ‘r’. And Ryo knew he couldn’t properly reciprocate his tenderness – at least, not _yet_.

Akira was coming over today, too. They were trying out a new recipe, which basically consisted of making pasta with meatballs and sauce. So new, such original.

Ryo wanted to... well, surprise Akira? Maybe that wasn’t the best expression for _Hey I know you think I have like no idea about how to be intimate with you and you’re kinda right about that but I want to change it_ so _bad_.

He had a week for preparing, and it took him almost all seven days to figure out what to say to Akira. Because making some random shit up and learning it by heart was as romantic as handing him a piece of- let’s just stick with ‘it wasn’t romantic’.

It had to come from the _heart_ , otherwise it wouldn’t hold.

Ryo knew because he heard the sincerity in Akira’s voice when he talked.

And last night, he had been just about to give up trying – because no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t get his feelings to paper.

Baring himself to Akira like that was the hardest part. Logically, he could convince himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. That Akira was just as unsure of this type of thing as him.

But Akira had never suppressed his emotions. He never thought there was anything wrong with them.

Ryo just couldn’t think like that. Vulnerability was a high price to pay – for _him_ , it always had been.

Last night, though, he got to his breakthrough.

Now, as he waited for Akira – he could arrive any moment, he was always at least five minutes late – his heart was hammering in his chest and excitement was bubbling under his skin.

When Akira rang the doorbell, Ryo almost tripped over his own feet while rushing to open it for him.

Akira couldn’t even get out a _Hi_ before Ryo wrapped his arms around him.

“Hey, babe.”

Akira held two bags, he couldn’t return the hug. He laughed. “Missed me?”

Ryo pulled back and grinned at him. “I’m just happy to see you.”

Akira examined his expression, smiling. “So basically: you missed me.”

“I guess you can say that.”

They went inside, chatting and teasing as Akira unpacked the ingredients and Ryo took out all the pans and whatnot.

Okay, so the meatballs were made by them. And Akira, the devilman, kept insisting that he eat the meatballs raw. And he actually fucking _did_ eat some, so Ryo had to yell at him to stop (in that tone where you want to scold someone but you can’t be serious because you find it funny).

Akira cooked the pasta – because that was harder to get wrong – and Ryo the sauce and meatballs. But even that was a _very_ serious fight, because Akira, the devilman, wanted to straight up put his hand in the boiling sauce and take a fucking sip from his hand. Ryo constantly had to [gently] swat his hand away.

It was important to note that Ryo only referred to Akira as ‘Akira, the devilman’ when he did bullshit like this.

After Akira sieved the pasta, he poured it into the sauce, and they left it on for some time.

Then Akira was ranting about how it was the first time he was eating something he had done without help from adults, and Ryo kept grinning at him the whole time. He was more interested in the fact that it was the first meal they had cooked _together_ – actually cooked, not just poured boiled water over it.

And it tasted... okay. Not great or good or tasty, but okay. It was edible. They were both hungry. It served its main purpose.

Akira insisted on washing the dishes – not gonna lie, Ryo loved him for it. Amongst other things, of course.

Which he was about to tell him, too.

When Akira was almost done with washing the dishes, Ryo approached him from behind. He wrapped his arms around his torso and nuzzled into his shoulder.

“Thanks for doing the dishes.”

“Of course.”

Half a minute, and Akira was done. He dried his hands, and put them atop Ryo’s.

 _Showtime_ , Ryo thinks, as he is both mature and serious.

He planted a kiss on Akira’s neck. “It was nice cooking with you.”

Akira laughed. “You’ll see, next time I _will_ get those meatballs.”

Ryo smiled. “Maybe I’ll even unintentionally turn away.”

Akira sighed. He leaned into Ryo.

Ryo closed his eyes and enjoyed his closeness.

After a minute or two, he said: “Can you turn around?”

Akira straightened and did so. He put his arms around Ryo’s neck while Ryo’s hands remained in the original position.

Then Ryo lifted a hand up to Akira’s face. Akira examined him, curious. There was no sign of discomfort, so Ryo continued it a little braver. He traced Akira’s jawline with his fingers.

Ryo took note of every little shift on Akira’s face – the way his lips parted, his face relaxing, eyes filling with tenderness.

His eyes.

His eyes were the only things that didn’t change after he became a devilman.

And last night, he realized he wanted to talk about Akira’s eyes.

After a while, Akira’s hand came to touch Ryo’s, and he held it to his face.

Ryo peered into his eyes, Akira’s gentle expression overwhelming him. He felt the freezing coming, but he couldn’t let it win this time.

“Akira.”

Akira hummed. Ryo couldn’t help but hesitate – he was getting lost in those dark eyes.

But he needed to say this. He wanted to.

He lifted his other hand, and cupped Akira’s face, staring intently.

“I want you to know, that...” Ryo swallowed. “I appreciate what you said last time.”

Akira’s smile stretches.

“And I, I want to say that, that I know I’m not the best at these things-”

Akira shook his head lightly. “It’s okay.”

Ryo kissed his nose. “Shhh. Let me finish.”

Akira nodded. “Alright,” he whispered.

Ryo stroked his face with a thumb.

“I wanted to let you know that- that- that I- I...” He took a deep breath, then exhaled. It was okay, everything was going to be fine.

He wanted to avoid having to look at him. But that would ruin the moment.

He leaned closer, bumped his nose against Akira’s, peered into his eyes, and said:

“I love your eyes.”

Well, it sounded a lot more romantic in his head.

Akira laughed. “You what?”

Ryo should have felt embarrassed. But he didn’t. He was invincible. He laughed too.

“You heard me right!” He threaded his free hand through Akira’s hair. “I love your eyes. I really do. They are always so gentle and calm.”

Akira huffed and bit his lip while smiling, looking elsewhere.

Ryo grinned. It was working, it was actually working. “I love how they light up when you tell a horrible joke and laugh at it.”

Akira laughed, his free hand touching his neck in embarrassment.

Ryo leaned closer to him, and Akira’s eyes met his gaze.

Ryo examined him. He stroked under his eye with the pad of his thumb.

“When you look at me like you do now, I feel like I’m at home.”

It came out as a whisper, but he hadn’t intended it to. He felt like he had said too much, like an invisible line had been crossed.

Ryo felt the same blend of determination and hesitancy in himself that he had seen in Akira. But he wasn’t afraid. Things weren’t up to him anymore. He had done his part.

Akira looked like someone who had just realized something – something important, if not the _most_ important thing.

He pulled Ryo into a hug, his free arm holding him so tight that it almost crushed him, but Ryo didn’t care. Akira was _so_ close to him like this – and for the first time, he didn’t mean _physical_ closeness.

Akira pushed his face against Ryo’s, his nose pressing into his cheek. Ryo still held his face.

He was warm. But it wasn’t the kind of warmth he felt when Akira kissed him – no, not _that_ one. It was another kind of warmth. One that he sensed with his mind rather than his body.

Did it feel like this to be in love?

They stood like that, holding each other close. Ryo didn’t even dare suggest they separate, and neither did Akira.

After some time, though, they _did_ need to pull away. Just their faces, though. Ryo let go of Akira’s face.

Akira’s eyes traced Ryo’s features. He put a hand on his cheek and stroked, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I’m glad you told me that.”

Ryo leaned into his touch, sighing. “I’m glad _you’re_ glad,” he joked.

Akira chuckled. “Do you want to eat the leftovers while binging something?”

“Only if we cuddle. With a blanket.”

“I approve.”

And they _did_ spend the afternoon cuddling on the couch, eating their pasta, while watching some random show they found on Netflix.

This time, Ryo _did_ put his head on Akira’s shoulder. It was less comfortable than what he imagined, but A Good Thing To Do nonetheless.

They both fell asleep on the couch later.

It was the calmest night Ryo has ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> i was so tired today that i was 100% seriously wondering for 10 full seconds how many hexameters there were in a kilometer, and. @brain: _why_  
>  and you know, after a day like that I would have loved to sit down and read some fluff, but,,,, I read everything in my taste so as the proverb or what goes (its 1 am okay), write what you want to read  
> btw I can, will, and should fill up the tag after final season is over (because we have a whole month here rip)
> 
> thanks for reading! I appreciate it if you leave kudos and/or comments (like a one-word "yeehaw", three heart emojis, a simple "i liked it!"; all forms & lengths are valid options), every and any interaction makes my day tbh :D
> 
> also: *slams fist on table* let Ryo be romantic with Akira too, not just the other way around, you cowards
> 
> (edit) about the inspired work: it's an indirect continuation of this story, how I imagine Ryo would further change in this sense in a few months' time. theme-wise it is less "love confession" and more "being stupid together"

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Chocolate](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17728505) by [TransparentSheepDeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransparentSheepDeer/pseuds/TransparentSheepDeer)




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